The field of the invention relates to compositions of matter and processes of treatment for disinfecting and for killing or disabling the growth of microbes.
Numerous proposals have been made in the past to provide disinfectant compositions for killing or controlling microorganisms which involved the complexing of iodine with various compounds which have the property of liberating the iodine for its disinfecting properties under conditions of use. These compositions are generally referred to in the art as iodophors, and their disinfectant and germicidal activity is derived essentially from the free iodine which they liberate. Characteristics of these iodophor compositions include their positive reaction to the starch-iodine test and their progressive loss of iodine from aqueous solution. For example, if an aqueous solution of such an iodophor is boiled, all of the iodine is very soon lost by volatilization. The standard iodophors, if extracted with an organic solvent such as chloroform, or carbon tetrachloride give rise to a violet non-aqueous phase which consists of molecular iodine dissolved in the solvent.
It is also known to be possible to make complexes of iodine that may be fairly stable but these complexes of iodine possess reduced, very little or no germicidal or anti-microbial activity.